Burglaries

• The Harwood Heights Police Department has received a number of complaints from residents concerning theft of property from their personal vehicles; in most instances these vehicles were left unlocked and personal property was left inside the vehicle in plain view; the Harwood Heights Police Department is asking residents to make sure that their vehicles are always locked and any personal property is removed from plain view or stored in the trunk; especially mounted GPS units; these units when not in use should always be removed and taken inside or stored in the trunk and not left in plain sight.   

Armed Robberies

• Two recent armed robberies took place at Best Tobacco located at 4740 North Harlem Avenue; the first armed robbery occurred on Tuesday, August 14th at approximately 3:57 P.M.; the offenders were described as a male black and a male Hispanic wearing ski masks armed with a knife and gun entered Best Tobacco and demanded money from the employees. The male black was wearing a light blue shirt with blue jeans and there was no clothing description for the male Hispanic; they were last seen running from Best Tobacco towards Marshall's; they were seen getting into a blue vehicle that was parked in Marshall's lot with a third offender no description given, sitting in the driver's seat. The second armed robbery took place on Friday, August 31st at 4:55 P.M.; three armed offenders walked in and demanded money; the female owner give them all the money in the cash register and they took numerous phone cards; the owner was bound with tape and told to lay down in the store's bathroom or she would be shot, the offenders ran out the back door, the owner crawled to a phone and called 911; two offenders were masked and the owner believes they were male blacks, the third offender was described as a male Hispanic in his thirties, no clothing description, the weapons displayed were an unknown rifle or shotgun and small semi-automatic pistols.     

Armed Robbery/Shooting

• A third armed robbery occurred on Monday, September 10th at E & D Citgo Gas Station located at 4555 North Nagle Avenue; at 10:55 P.M.; the attendant on duty was confronted by a male black offender demanding money; the attendant refused and walked around to the end of the service counter when the offender drew what appeared to be a .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun; the offender chambered a round and fired one shot striking the attendant in the leg; the offender was last seen running east from the gas station into the City of Chicago;the offender appeared to be heavy built in his thirties.   

• Due to the recent armed robberies the Mayor's office along with the police department is urging businesses in Harwood Heights to take these precautionary steps for your safety and the safety of your employees: (1) install an alarm to cover all entry points with infra red and motion detectors; (2) make frequent cash drops to keep the amount of money in the cash registers to a minimum; (3) keep small high price items under lock and key preferably in cases with shatter proof glass; (4) practice good customer service, to an honest customer it means you care, to a thief it means someone is watching me; (5) utilize closed circuit cameras especially covering cash registerts and dead corners; (6) supply the police with a current list of who to call in the event of an emergency; (7) in the event of a robbery, cooperate and obtain a description of the offender, the direction they left the place of business and a description of any vehicle used and the license plate of the vehicle; (8) as business owners make sure you have at least yourself and another employee working with you at all times so this way if one is distracted the other can be watchful; (9) always be watchful of anyone acting suspicious in nature, for example, if someone walks in asking usual questions or spending a large amount of time in your establishment and they don't purchase any merchandise; (10) remember with these few suggestions you might prevent yourself from becoming a potential target or victim.

Scam    

• On Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 4:15 P.M.;a scam took place at 4414 North Nagle Avenue; the ederly female home owner was out in front putting out Christmas decorations when the home owner was approached by the offender described as a male Hispanic, medium build, 5'5'' in height, wearing a yellow construction hat told the home owner that he needed to gain access into her home because; they were cutting down tree branches in the area and he had to turn off her electric; the home owner along with her husband allowed the offender into the residence and they walked downstairs when they heard footsteps upstairs and the offender was no longer behind them; when they went back upstairs the offender yelled to them "Merry Christmas" and ran out the door; they discovered that their bedroom doors were open and that $300.00 dollars in cash and $600.00 dollars in jewelry was missing from their bedrooms. If anyone has information concerning this incident please contact the Harwood Heights Police Department, Detective Division (708) 867-4353.  

Strong Armed Robberies/Purse Snatches   

• The Harwood Heights Police Department received intelligence information from the Chicago Police Department 16th District regarding five recent strong armed robberies/purse snatches that have taken place in the City of Chicago bordering the Village of Harwood Heights; these recent strong armed robberies have occurred at the following locations: 6057 West School Chicago, Illinois, 3858 North Neva Chicago, Illinois, 6312 North Nagle Chicago, Illinois, 5442 North Harlem Chicago, Illinois, and 5223 North Liano Chicago, Illinois; according to the Chicago Police Department all the victims have been elderly female victims that had just left Butera Foods at 4761 North Nagle Harwood Heights, Illinois; the offender is described as a male black, between the age of 40 and 50, 185 to 230 pounds, wearing tan pants and coat, beige winter hat with flaps or black baseball cap and dark coat. The male black offender has been seen driving a burgundy vehicle; according to the victims they are approached by the male black offender after parking their vehicles in their garage and then the offender uses force to take their purse. If anyone has information concerning these incidents please contact the Harwood Heights Police Department, Detective Division (708) 867-4353.